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1 in 7 take little or no responsibility for their own health

10 July 2015

image credit: simplyhealth/yougov

A new survey has pinpointed some interesting aspects of the health and wellbeing of adults in Britain, today; the most notable of which was the statistic that 14% of people believe that they have little or no responsibility for their own health and wellbeing.

The Everyday Health Tracker has been set up jointly by Simplyhealth and YouGov and is intended to be regularly updated to create the Everyday Health Index – the first regular measure of the nation’s health. It asks 2,000 26 questions about their health and it is hoped that the index will become a regular point of reference for stakeholders across the healthcare industry, as demographic change and new treatments and technologies take us into a new era of healthcare provision.

Other key findings of the initial survey found:

According to the Tracker’s BMI data a third of women and a fifth of men are obese.

NHS guidelines on diet and exercise not having enough effect

Everyday health conditions worry people just as much as the “Big 3” of cancer, stroke and heart disease

Women are more concerned about all health problems but many men and women don’t act on these and take preventive measures

While there is low take-up so far, fitness technology has huge potential to improve health.

London and the South are the healthiest regions in the UK, with Wales the least healthy.

Romana Abdin, chief executive of private healthcare company Simplyhealth, said: “We’ve launched this Tracker with YouGov to help inform the debate on the future of UK healthcare. Changing demographics, increasing obesity and new technologies and treatments are demanding a new approach to healthcare delivery. To make the best decisions, our healthcare sector needs the best information.

“The Tracker shows that when thinking about their future health, people worry just as much about everyday conditions like joint and back pain as life-threatening illnesses. As our population ages, we need to have an honest discussion about how – or if – the NHS can meet the increasing demand for everyday health treatments.”